I read an article Take Two Hours Of Pine Forest and Call Me In the Morning and wanted to share some of the things that it said. It is common knowledge that outdoors boosts our heath, mood, and other things but sometimes we all need a reminder so that is what I am doing. The following quotes are excerpts from this article.
Since the age of the internet, North Americans have become more aggressive, more narcissistic, more distracted, more depressed and less cognitively nimble. Oh yeah, and fatter.
And don't t hink you're off the hook if you exercise outdoors. You are quite likely still tethered to civilization. Perhaps you're strapped to a heart monitor or headset. Admit it: Have you brought your phone?
Build outdoor moments into your schedule. Don't neglect prolonged, uninterrupted nature excursions.
Don't just use the outdoors like a gym; you need to purposefully engage with the natural world. It's amazing what you can find and things you can hear when you start seeking them out.
Try harder to quit checking text messages and instead watch for rock bass jumping in the C&O Canal. Scratch and sniff some pinecones. Run my hands through the moss. Maybe even a little bark tea.
I was interested in this because I tried to go out on a nature walk in the backyard the other day and no one was interested in coming with me. Didn't they know that the trees were playing peekaboo through the fog, the smell of decaying leaves was fresh, and the deer and squirrels were just creeping around the bend? We sit on the couch and spend so much time flipping through our tv shows or toggling between facebook and email but we could really go outside and find something that truly amazing. All we have to do is look, leave our phone behind, go outside and look. Listening helps too, and thinking about it you should probably use all five senses. If you sit there for long enough you will find something unique that no one has seen before except for you. Because honestly, what's life without the little things? It's there and we are wasting it.
p.s. just so you know I am not writing this b/c of my husband. He goes outside with me sometimes.
